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"If you’re a casual fan of other Paul Verhoeven films like Robocop or Starship Troopers, it may be a source of mild-to-nagging curiosity."

Oh damn that's me! I haven't watched show girls, but I was just talking about doing so like 2 days ago! Crazy! I liked Elle quite a bit. I am also the kind of person who finds great value in movies other people seem to think are bad for some reason (Beach Bum being the most recent masterpiece I can think of haha). I am gonna watch it and check out the doc; thanks for the rec!

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yeah, i definitely hear you and Andy on the conversations of what is considered bad. i think much of my focus is on how often i wish that the tent poll of what critics and mainstream audiences considered "masterpieces" was wider and more diverse. even though i'm usually not always a fan of trashy stuff, or Andy's "beautiful trash," I do find those films and conversations way more interesting and fun to talk about than a lot of the prestige stuff.

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for sure! I think just last week I watched Two Plains and a Fancy which is a spa western (3 people looking for hot springs in the old west) by the people who did L for Leisure. I loved it! I mean, I don't think it falls into a trash category (it's very beautiful and low-key), but it is def not something I've seen anyone talking about.

At this point, I feel like I've absorbed more media than a lot of the "critics" and use them for finding out about stuff I've missed, but their opinions for the most part don't matter that much. I swear if I see another "How [current oscar nominated movie] addressees [current political issue]" piece I am going to roll my eyes haha.

I feel like my opinions fall somewhere between a critic and that guy who used to come into barnes and read all the manga. Obv he had no "good" taste based on his manga choices and whatever his life was that allowed him to spend hours a day in the BN. But I am also sure he's read more manga than whatever "manga critics." So who is the authority? Yourself I guess? Experts/elites are not valued enough, and as a result, a thinkpiece can get traction on twitter just for being a bad take and become "the discourse" and the real good criticism is much harder to find. Its a balance I think about every now and then hahaha at least I subscribe to this website!

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we make this for readers like you!

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is it weird that i remember first seeing this as a child in the 90s?

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also can't wait to watch this doc ❤️

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Showgirls is such a fun movie! I’ve always thought of it being in the same canon as the “midnight movie” despite it having a bigger budget and higher production value than those movies usually did. It’s just unashamedly campy and fun. I haven’t seen this documentary but it’s now on my radar. Thanks!

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